DR Congo Education Foundation

⁠1948 hit single by Papa Wendo, co-written with guitarist Henri Bowane. ⁠
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⁠His first international hit, in 1948, was “Marie-Louise”, co-written with guitarist Henri Bowane. Through the publicity of “Radio Congolia”, along with the controversy which followed the song (a back-and-forth between Wendo and Henri over Wendo’s pursuit of a girl, thwarted by Henri’s wealth, with salacious undertones), the song became a success throughout West Africa. With its success came trouble: the song had “satanic” powers attributed to it by Catholic religious leaders. Stories from the time even claimed that the song, if played at midnight, could raise the dead. The furor drove Wendo out of Kinshasa, and resulted in a brief imprisonment by the Belgian authorities in Stanleyville and his excommunication from the Catholic Church. ⁠
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⁠Imitating the bandleader Paul Kamba, Wendo and Me Taureau Bateko created the “Victoria Kin” orchestra, which later became “Victoria Bakolo Miziki”, recording for Ngoma, but also other Congolese labels.Fronted by Wendo’s echoing and soaring vocals, the group was also famous for its dancers, called “La reine politesse” directed by Germaine Ngongolo.⁠
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⁠Papa Wendo and Patrice Lumumba were friends coming up in the music and political industries in the DRC. Lumumba, a known music lover and dancer, fell in love with the new Soukous sound that Papa Wendo performed across Kinshasa, often turning up to his shows to simply enjoy music. This is where they built their relationship. Upon the death of Lumumba, Papa Wendo stopped music as a protest against the new regime which required musicians to sing favourably to the sitting President Mobutu.⁠
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⁠Mr Antoine Wendo Kolosoy born the 25th April 1925, also known as Papa Wendo.⁠
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⁠what does the following artists all have in common: Tabu Ley Rochereau, Dr Nico Kasanda, Papa Wemba, Pépé Kallé, Koffi Olomide, Tshala Muana and groups like Wenge Musica, Zaiko Langa Langa, Empire Bakuba.⁠
The connection is Papa Wendo, who played a pivotal role in paving the way to the Soukous sound, influencing a new modern generation of Soukous lead by Le Grand Kallé. ⁠
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The combination of African lyrics and vocals with Afro-Cuban rhythms and instrumentation (particularly son cubano) spawned one of the most successful African musical genres: Soukous. Papa Wendo would use this new style of music to perform up and down Kinshasa with his Cuban style band Victoria Barolo Miziki.⁠
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The word Soukous derives from the French word secousse, meaning shock, jolt or jerk. Soukous is a genre of dance music from the Congo Basin. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s and often used as a synonym for Congolese rumba, However, both the music and dance associated with Soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo and longer dance sequences.⁠
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Antoine Wendo Kolosoy, better known as Papa Wendo, was a Congolese musician considered to be the Father of Soukous. He was a boxer and boatman by trade and at one point became the biggest musician in the old DRC.⁠
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